three's a crowd

Seeing as this post is now a week old it feels rather odd writing it, writing a diary a week late. To save me getting confused I am going to write in the present tense.

Only a few days left 'til the children break up for the Easter holidays and with this in mind, knowing that my time will no longer be my own I decided that the rather brown bananas needed a makeover. My favorite kind of makeover, the Nigella makeover.

Now previously for her 'Banana and Butterscotch Muffins' I have substituted the toffee for chocolate (not by choice by sheer frustration that I can't find butterscotch chunks in the home baking aisle of neither Sainsburys, Tesco or Asda and we are not blessed with a Waitrose). They always go down very well anyway.

But, thank you Silver Spoon (have you noticed that they have brought out a new home baking range and it's really rather lovely. Even the packaging is quite tempting). I can now try fudge pieces in my muffins which come quite close to butterscotch, I think.

It has made a world of difference they are sooooooo much better than with chocolate.


Hmmm. That is not a flattering picture. Promise they are not really burnt.


Thats better, a much more tasty photograph.

So, on the same shopping trip to Sainsburys, where I found the fudge pieces, I bought a new cookery book. I had seen the series on TV recently and was especially impressed with the large amount of Emma Bridgewater china that they use (how shallow is that). The cooking seemed quite good too!


Having a good look through later I found quite a large number of recipes that I used to bake with my Mum. It is true Mum knows best! Coffee Kisses were a huge favorite.


Of course in those days we had never heard of bikers baking, let alone hairy ones, so our recipe came from the good old Be-Ro Home Recipes book.





and it was a recipe that my Gran used and found in her Be-Ro Home Recipes book




and its a recipe that is in my Be-Ro Home Recipes book


and they are just as lovely as I remember, especially when my own children have had a hand in them as well.



Other recipes in the Hairy Bikers were Empire biscuits, as seen below in my Grans handwritten recipe keeper (sorry, v. bad photo I know) and one of my Mums faves, Key Lime Pie (such a treat on New Years Eve).

Don't think I fancy the cough mixture as outlined below though!

And after all that retro baking it's lovely to wash up with retro washing up liquid. I tell you, this bottle will be washed and reused FORever!

On the knitty front, variegated cardi is finished (well, it was a few weeks ago actually) and no I havn't worn it out yet.

and my new project is a lovely cable scarf which I am very proud of because I am knitting it without the pattern! (thanks Ari).

Yes, I know it's the wrong time of year to be starting a scarf but at least this way it may be ready for Autumn 2010!

Any way, as in the words of Be-Ro 1930 - 'the woman who can cook well and bake well has every reason and every right to feel proud'. Golly, if only it were that easy in 2010.

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